Japan's plastic feedstocks production decreases 6.1% in March

09 May 2012 11:59  [Source: ICIS news]

KYO (ICIS)--Japan’s production of plastic feedstocks declined by 6.1% to 751,500 tonnes in March from the previous month, the Japan Plastics Industry Federation (JPIF) said on Wednesday.

This was an 8.4% decrease from the corresponding period a year earlier, according to the federation.

“[Production] was even lower than in March last year, the month the [11 March] earthquake hit. [Japan’s] demand for plastic continues to offer cause for concern,” JPIF official Tetsushi Suzuki said in Japanese at a press conference.

The country’s output of plastic products rose 5.3% month on month to 473,000 tonnes in March, a 4.5% increase from March 2011, the federation said.

“It’s an increase from the month of the earthquake [in March 2011], but it’s hard to say if [demand is] back to normal. We have to see production statistics for April and May,” Suzuki said.

Meanwhile, Japan’s exports of plastic feedstocks decreased 12% month on month to 356,326 tonnes in March, while imports rose 11% to 195,163 tonnes, according to the JPIF.

By: Tomomi Yokomura
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